By: Maulana Muhammad A. K. Azad [ Abu Arif Al Alawi ]
Hafidh Ibn Kathīr, Most-Respected Mufassir of Salafi Scholars, proves tawassul from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 emphatically. Hafidh Ibn Kathir writes: “(In this Qur'anic verse) Allah is exhorting the sinners and evildoers that when they commit sins and errors they should call on the Messenger of Allah and ask forgiveness from Allah. They should also request the Messenger of Allah to pray for them. When they do so, Allah will turn to them and forgive them and He will show mercy to them. That is why He used the words la-wajadullāha tawwāban-rahīmā (they (on the basis of this means and intercession) would have surely found Allah the Granter of repentance, extremely Merciful. [Ref : Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr-ul-Qur'an al-‘azīm , Under the Verse 4:64] .
In the name of Allah, The Most
Gracious, The Most Merciful. All Praise is due
to Allah The Most High. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu Alaihi Wa sallam, his family and
his companions.
Bidatis! How can tawaassul be shirk or
haram? There is not a single Quranic Verse prohibititing or condemning tawassul whereas a number
of Quranic Verses justify its permissibility. Let alone Shirk which is capital crime, in which
Quranic Verse or Hadith, Tawassul and seeking help from Prophets and Awliyas,
are declared as merely undesirable or
impermissible ? The acts which are not
declared even “disliked”or “undesirable” by Shariah, how can you declare them
as Shirk ? Allah
Almighty commands
:
“O believers!
Fear Allah and seek means (وَ ابْتَغُوْۤا اِلَیْهِ الْوَسِیْلَةَ ) of approach
unto Him, And strive in His cause, that you may prosper” [surah Al-Mā’idah, Surah No. 05, Verse
No.35)The
instruction of this verse on seeking wasila is general and this wasila may be
of various forms : Wasila through good deeds, wasila through the
names and attributes of Almighty Allah and wasila through Allah’s beloved
servants.Some people say that Allah
Almighty Himself declares that only Wasila through good deeds and through the
names and attributes of Almighty Allah are permissible and waasila through The
Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa sallam oy Awliyas are Shirk. Why Brothers? In
which verse of Al Quran or in which Hadeeth such differentiation are mentioned
? Having failed to answer, these brothers say, wasila through alive persons are
permissible but through deceased persons are shirk. This differentiation too is
self-coined and has no connection with Al Quran and Al Hadeeth. Allah Almighty
declares that He allows His chosen people to intercede. Allah Almighty says,"Whatever is in the heavens and
whatever is in the earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by
his permission" (Surah Baqarah, Surah No. 02 , Verse No. 255). The words
"but" and "except" in
suggest clearly that Allah’s chosen Servants whom Allah allows can
intercede . Allah Subhanahu Taala declares:"On that Day the intercession
of any one will not avail but of him whom the Most Affectionate has permitted
and whose word He liked”. [ Surah Taha, Surah No. 20, Verse No. 109]. Allah
Subhanahu Taala declares : "On that day shall no intercession avail
except of him whom the Beneficent God allows and whose word He is pleased
with" (20:109) Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares :"And intercession will not avail aught with Him save of
him whom He permits" (34:23). Allah Subhanahu Taala declares:"And
how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession does not avail at
all except after Allah has given permission to whom He pleases and
chooses" (53:26). Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares :"...And they do not intercede except for him whom He
approve..." (21:28). Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares: "And those whom they call upon besides Him have no
authority for intercession, but he who bears witness of the truth and they know
(him)" (43:86) . In Chapter Nisaa', permissibility of tawassul
becomes more specific. In Surah Nisaa' Allah explains: “ If they (hypocrites) when they had been unjust
to themselves, had come to you ( Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and
begged Allah’s forgiveness and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them:
indeed, they would have found Allah All-forgiving ( one who forgives and
accepts repentance), Most Merciful.” [ Surah Nisaa’, Surah No. 04 , Verse No:64]
Hafidh Ibn Kathīr, Most-Respected Mufassir of Salafi Scholars, proves tawassul from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 emphatically. Hafidh Ibn Kathir writes: “(In this Qur'anic verse) Allah is exhorting the sinners and evildoers that when they commit sins and errors they should call on the Messenger of Allah and ask forgiveness from Allah. They should also request the Messenger of Allah to pray for them. When they do so, Allah will turn to them and forgive them and He will show mercy to them. That is why He used the words la-wajadullāha tawwāban-rahīmā (they (on the basis of this means and intercession) would have surely found Allah the Granter of repentance, extremely Merciful. [Ref : Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr-ul-Qur'an al-‘azīm , Under the Verse 4:64] .
Imam Ibn
Kathir continues: "Jama'at
(Many scholars) have stated this tradition. One of them is
Abu Mansur al-Sabbagh who writes in his book Al-Shamil Al-Hikayat-ul-mashhurah
that, according to ‘Utbi, once he was sitting
beside the Prophet’s grave when a bedouin came and he said, “Peace be on you, O
Allah’s Messenger. I have heard that Allah says: ‘(O
beloved!) And if they had come to you, when they had wronged their souls, and
asked forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger also had asked forgiveness for
them, they (on the basis of this means and intercession) would have surely
found Allah the Granter of repentance, extremely Merciful.’ I have
come to you, asking forgiveness for my sins and I make you as my intermediary
before my Lord and I have come to you for this purpose.” Then he recited
these verses: “O, the most exalted among the buried people who improved the
worth of the plains and the hillocks! May I sacrifice my life for this grave
which is made radiant by you, (the Prophet,) the one who is (an embodiment) of
mercy and forgiveness.” Then the bedouin went
away and I fell asleep. In my dream I saw the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
He said to me: O ‘Utbi, the bedouin is right, go and give him the good news
that Allah has forgiven his sins. [Ibn
Kathir, Tafsir-ul-Qur'an al-azim Volume 004, Page No. 140, Under the Verse 4:64]
Great Hadeeth-specialist Imam an-Nawawi proves the legitimacy of
Tawassul from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 categorically.
He writes: "(The pilgrim) should turn towards the face of the
Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and make him a means (tawassul)
for the sake of himself and also seek his intercession (shafa'at) towards
reaching God. In this regard “THE BEST OF SAYINGS” is
the Hikayat of Imam al-Marwadi (rah) and Qadhi Abu at-Tayb (rah) and “ALL MY
OTHER ASHAAB (I.E. SHAWAFI)” the narration of Utbi “AND THEY CONSIDERED IT
HASAN/RECOMMENDED (مستحسنين له)” i.e. Bedouin who
visited the Prophet's grave and sat beside it said: Peace unto you O Messenger
of Allah, I have heard Allah has said:
Had they, when they had wronged themselves, come to you and
asked Allah's forgiveness and the Apostle had asked forgiveness for them, they
would certainly have found Allah Most-Propitious, Most-Merciful. (Holy
Qur'an 4: 64).
Therefore, I have come to you for forgiveness of my sins and
seeking your intercession with Allah" [Imam an-Nawawi in Al-Majmu',
Volume No. 8, Page No. 274]
Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti proves the legitimacy of Tawassul categorically from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 in "Dur
al-Manthur". He writes:
Imam al-Bayhaqi (rah) has narrated from Abi Harb al-Hilali who
said:... (and then he mentioned the incident of Araabi) [Tafsir
Dur al Manthur under 4:64)]
Imam Qurtubi proves the legitimacy of Tawassul categorically from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 In His
Tafsir. He
writes: "Its related from Abu Sadiq (ra) that Imam Ali (ra)
said: "Three days after burying the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) arab
did came and did throw himself on the grave of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him),
took the earth and throw it on his head. He said: "Ya Rasulallah! (Peace
Be Upon Him) You did speak and we did hear, you learned from Allah and we did
learn from you. Between those things which Allah did send you, is following:
(4:64) I am the one, which is a sinner and now I did came to you, so that
you may ask for me." After that a call from the grave did came:
"Theres no doubt, you are forgiven!" [Tafsir al-Qurtubi,
al-Jami li Ahkam al-Quran Volume 006, Page No. 439, Under the Verse,
4:64]
This
incident of the Bedouin is related also by Bayhaqi
in Shu‘ab-ul-Imaan (Volume no: 3, Page no:495-496, Hadith No#4178), Ibn
Qudamah in al-Mughni- (Book : Kitab Al Hajj Chapter : Wa Yustahabbu Ziyarat
Qabr An NABI SAW Volume : 5 Page : 465) , Ibn ‘Asakir in Tahdhīb tarikh
Dimashq al-kabir popularly known as Tarikh/Tahdhib Ibn ‘Asakir as quoted by
Imam as-Subki in Shifa’-us-siqam fī ziyaat khayr-il-anam (pp. 46-7), Tafsir
al-Bahr al-Muheet by Imam Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi (3/282, Dar al Fikr edition)
or Book : Tafseer bahr Al Muheet Volume : 3 Page : 269 Under : Sorat An Nisa
Ayat number 64 , Imam
al-Mutaqi al-Hindi in Kanz ul Amaal (1/714 #10422) or Book : Tafseer bahr
Al Muheet Volume : 3 Page : 269 Under : Sorat An Nisa Ayat number
64 , Imam al-Nawawi again in his al-Majmu' (8/202-203)
and Ibn Hajar Haythami in al-Jawhar-ul-munazzam (p. 51).
Salafis ! These
references prove without any shadow of doubt that great Muhaditheen not only
authenticated this very report but also considered the action as Mustahab . None of
these Imams called it shirk or Bidah. Most importantly, no Quranic Verse, No
Hadeeth, NoTafsir-Master and No Hadith-Master endorse that the significance and operational range of this holy verse was restricted only to the earthly
existence of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi wa sallam. Did
Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Nawawi, Imam Qurtubi and other Mufassirins or
Hadith-Masters commit shirk ? Did they become Mushriks? Your Own Imam Maulana
Muhammad Ismail Muhammadi confesses that the living and the dead are equal ,
you can make tawassul of living and dead buzurgs. [ Nuzulul Abrar By Maulana
Muhammad Ismail Muhammadi salafi , Page 05]
Wa Maa Alaina Illal Balaag.
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